Laughs Will and Testament: Japan's New Manga Will Kits

Planning one's last will and testament is never comical but a note of comic style - as in comic book - can make a complex process easier to understand. This theory is common sense in Japan, home of the manga, and it's been used to break down subjects ranging from the periodic table to the Bible to the lowest common denominator.

With Kokuyo's new will kit, tough decisions regarding estate planning, bequests and asset allocation among dependents are explained in classic manga style. So easy a caveman can do it? Perhaps - provided they know how to read comics in Japanese!

Kokuyo gives three examples of their manga-style will kit at their website. Example A features a married couple in their 30s with four elderly parents. Example B involves a young couple with two young children while Example C features a married senior couple with three adult children in their 30s.

Guiding each group of protagonists through the process of writing a will is a feisty, white-haired, moustachioed oldster who appears to be a cross between Dilbert's boss and the Monopoly Man. Better listen to the cranky codger or he'll kick you right off his Zen lawn!

Just released yesterday (June 15/09), Kokuyo's will kit costs 2,415 yen (about $25) and provides 4 will template papers with a preventive function, two drafts, one storage card, a non-resealable envelope and practice paper. To complete the manga imagery, the whole will kit & kaboodle comes in an easy-to-read notebook format.

As Japan's population ages and the manga-reading set slips into their golden years, Kokuyo's will kits will be going fast... almost as fast as their buyers. (via Nikkei Trendy Net, images via Kokuyo)